Zoning Restrictions On Gun Shops Move A Step Closer To Final Approval

February 21, 1996|By Dean Geroulis.

Park Ridge — The City Council Monday night approved the first reading of a proposed ordinance that would ban retail gun shops except as special uses that could carry a number of restrictions and require council approval.

Under the proposed amendment to the local zoning code, gun shops would be a permitted only by special-use permit in the city's commercial districts. Anyone interested in opening a gun shop could apply for a special-use permit, but such a process allows the city considerable authority to impose restrictions on the business. The proposed ordinance would not apply to licensed gun dealers who work from their homes.

The Council's 8-6 vote authorizing the city attorney to prepare the ordinance for final action followed a 90-minute discussion in which various alternative measures and amendments were rejected. One would have allowed limited sales of rifles and ammunition in the city's business districts, while banning all other types of gun and ammunition sales.

"I believe the answer to the current disagreement is the special use," said Ald. Steve Huening (5th), one of the supporters of the ordinance that passed. "It allows a case-by-case review. It does not prohibit the sale of firearms."

But even that measure met with resistance from about half a dozen residents who spoke out against the restriction, characterizing it as unnecessary legislation and an infringement on gun owner's rights. They included a licensed gun dealer, a high school history teacher, a sportsman and a candidate for Cook County Circuit Court Judge.